The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries made the agreement as recognition of Sudan as an oil-producing country with substantial output quantities.

Sudan began exporting oil in mid-1999 from various oil fields in the center of the country, yet in recent months rebels in the south have embarked on a military campaign to force out oil companies from Sudan. The country has been destroyed by civil war, mainly in the south, for the past 18 years.

Jaz added that oil is constantly being discovered across the country and called for additional foreign investments in the oil sector. —(Mena Report)